Melanie
LockertContributing writer
Melanie Lockert is an L.A.-born and Brooklyn-based freelance writer with a decade of experience in personal finance. Melanie started the Dear Debt blog in 2013 and chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. She published a book of the same name in 2016. Her personal finance expertise has been featured on Fortune Recommends, CNN Underscored, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider, among other publications. She is also the host of the Mental Health and Wealth Show and cofounder of the Lola Retreat, a finance event for women.Advertisement